A variety of LA Guns for me today. The most under-rated band of that genre of that time (from the point of view that I think they are fantastic and hugely talented and should have been as big as Guns N Roses).

New Iron Maiden Album, Book of Souls. Wasn't too taken in by the single (Speed of Light) but after having this on repeat for a few hours I can honestly say is one of their best albums ever. Like up there with the 80's classics. It's that good. Red and Black must be one of the best songs they have ever written. This makes me really excited for the tour next year Glad to have you back boys.

_________________The two most powerful warriors are patience and time…so remember: great achievements take time, there is no overnight success.

Endless River by Pink Floyd. I get why a lot of people don't like this album much (it's almost totally instrumental) but theres something about the sparce but epic soundscapes that I really enjoy. Sure its no 'Dark Side' but it's one of their better albums. I'm going to be really controversial and say I prefer it to 'The Wall'. Come at me, Floyd Fans

_________________The two most powerful warriors are patience and time…so remember: great achievements take time, there is no overnight success.

On the bus to work this morning, a bit of Linkin Park (Meteora) and Alter Bridge (Blackbird).

Set me up nicely for the day.

I just heard Heavy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dmQ3QWpy1Q), one of the newer singles by Linkin Park. I don't get how they've ended up making music like this. It's not necessarily bad by my taste, but I absolutely love Linkin Park from Hybrid Theory and Meteora. They don't do loud, guitar, rap and vocals nu metal stuff at all anymore. Does Mike Shinoda still turn up? Maybe he left when I wasn't paying attention. I get it's been almost 20 years for them, but it's a bit weird to me. None of the other bands I like have undergone quite such a drastic swing in style. Though I suppose Queen did release the awful Hot Space disco rubbish (saved by having Under Pressure) which might count, but they went back to making proper music.

Ok, I’m old-ish & sentimental but since my daughter brought a young Dutch girl on Holland’s got Talent to my attention 3 years ago I have been listening to everything new that she does. She was 9 years old when she won it & this was her audition.

_________________Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have the skill & the will but the will must be stronger than the skill. Muhammad Ali

With the sad death of Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, I've been listening to Linkin Park all day.

My all time top 4 bands are probably Staind (who probably most remember as a 1-2 hit wonder band), Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park and Queen. I was too young to know about music when Freddie Mercury died. Staind split up after a good many years and producing 5 of my top 15 albums of all time - I really love Staind. Nine Inch Nails is basically Trent Reznor who is still going but hasn't done much of note in the last 10+ years (more for some people). Linkin Park is probably of the first band that are of my generation that I love to have a core member die. I usually think it's ridiculous when people get upset about "celebrity" deaths, but when I woke up this morning I did have to double check that these things happened. I have a lot of fond memories of Linkin Park. I recall skiving off the afternoon from school one afternoon the week Meteora came out. I remember the first time I kissed a girl I had on my Linkin Park Hybrid Theory t-shirt. I remember seeing them at Download 2011, after standing in the pouring rain for about 8 hours on my own as my pals decided it was too wet and they didn't care enough. I have a thing about rain being incredibly relaxing and utterly cathartic and I absolutely love LP and the whole thing was very special to me. I later bought the mp3s of the performance from the Linkin Park website. I know probably no one really cares that I felt the need to vent a little about a nu-metal band, but I didn't have anywhere else to post this and so it ended up here.

Anyway, I listened to the entirety of Hybrid Theory, Meteora, Collision Course with Jay-Z, Minutes to Midnight and selected songs from their later albums and remix albums.

Bit of a latecomer to both Muse and Slipknot so have been blasting that out, much to my wife's annoyance.

Also reminiscing with a bit of Dio and Aqualung (Jethro Tull).

A few years ago I went through a phase where (since I was always the first in my part of the building to get to work) I would play 'Skating Away' by Tull loud enough to be heard wherever I went in the area while I got the coffee brewing.

Any time I have my phone playing random songs from my library while driving and 'Lost in Hollywood' by Rainbow comes on I instantly find myself driving 10-15mph faster than I should be.

But to be on topic. I've recently been alerted to a Scottish singer/song writer John Taylor. One of his songs is being used on an insurance commercial here that airs a lot during races that caught my attention and I've bought the album that song is on and will probably explore his back catalog more soon.

I like him because his style of playing and his voice are a good match to my own so it's easy enough for me to learn his songs to play around the house and annoy the dog.

and the sublime Josefin Ohrn Take Me Beyond. Mazzy Star meets early Stereolab.

You're speaking my language, I'm definitely going checking this out

It's brilliant!

Indeed they are!

Currently watching a live Wolf Alice video (Giant Peach) and thinking I really need to try and go see them live. Love that they can go balls-to-the wall like that but can also cover such a broad spectrum. If you don't know them and want to get a full taste check out some of their KEXP sessions on youtube. But don't do the kids of today ADHD approach of 5 seconds-nah-next! Let it play.

On a side note, just how good are the sound engineers on KEXP - even bands I don't like sound fantastic.

I hadn't noticed this topic until today, lot's of cool stuff, thanks for the ideas. I've just stumbled across a band that I'd ignored in the past, but now I'm in love with them. You have to check out Primus, they're so interesting. Watch the video for "My name is Mud" and you will be truly mesmerized ha ha. Great musicality, and quirky to say the least.

So I just got sucked down into the depths of Youtube and was blown away by a couple of guitarists, Laura Lace and Tina S. I particularly like Tina S's rock guitar versions of classical songs. Unbelievable.